Heatwaves and extreme weather around the world create lethal conditions summer 2023
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LAST UPDATED JULY 19:
In China, Typhoon Talim has reportedly displaced over 230,000 people when torrential rains recently hit the south-eastern part of the country.
Asia is experiencing heat waves and extreme weather:in South Korea, the death toll from several days of torrential rain and landslides rose to 41 dead.
Winds of nearly 140km/h (87mph) were affecting the Guangdong province Monday night, before reaching neighbouring Guangxi on Tuesday.
In Japan, around 60 people were treated for heatstroke. Parts of China are experiencing record-high temperatures, reports the BBC.
Japanese authorities have also issued heat stroke warnings in 32 out of the country's 47 prefectures, when temperatures in many places rose to nearly 40 C / 104 F.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has said he will "completely overhaul" the country's approach to extreme weather, as these events will become "more commonplace".
Europe: The entire population in all major Italian cities at high risk for heat stroke
In Italy, nearly all of the major cities were on Red Alert for high temperatures on Tuesday. 23 cities from Trieste in the north-east to Messina in the south-west had warnings which mean the heat poses a threat to the entire population, not just vulnerable groups.
According to the BBC, the heatwave in Europe is being caused by a high pressure system bringing warmer, tropical air, south of a jet stream currently stuck over central Europe.
BBC Weather says parts of the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily will once again be the hottest, reaching peak afternoon temperatures of around approaching 47 C / 117 F.
The heatwave, which has swept across Italy, has been described by local media as settimana infernale - or "week of hell".
The Italian health ministry has asked emergency rooms across the country to activate so-called "heat codes", assigning a separate group of medical staff to treat people who come in with symptoms caused by the heat.
A new record-high temperature of 41.8 C / 107 F was reportedly recorded in the Italian capital of Rome on Tuesday.
Red alerts also remain in place across Spain, Greece and parts of the Balkans.
Tunisia in Northern Africa is also expected to reach 50 C / 122 F.
Thursday may bring Europe some relief
Temperatures are expected to fall on Thursday for many cities in Europe, including northern Italy - where red alerts will be removed for six cities.
United States: Phoenix heatwave has lasted 17 days or more
A heat dome over the US south-west has brought extreme heat warnings from coast to coast, which continue to affect more than 110 million people.
In Las Vegas, the intense heat wave was threatening to break the city's previous heat record of 47.2 C (117 F ).
In the south-western US, hundreds of firefighters have been battling brush fires in high heat and low humidity on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Temperatures in Death Valley in California reached 53.9 C / 128 F on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
In Phoenix, Arizona, temperatures have been recorded above 43 C / 109 F for 17 days in a row.
The NWS has said that the current system in the southwestern US is "one of the strongest" of its kind to hit the region.
The Weather Channel said the heat dome will expand across the nation's southern parts by the middle of next week. This could mean that other southern US states will also experience rising temperatures.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada still a problem for air quality - adding to flash floods and thunder
The north-eastern states could experience another period of poor air quality as a result of the continuing wildfires in Canada. Other areas in the US are preparing themselves for severe thunderstorms and flash floods.
State of New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at a recent press conference:
"As if the rain coming out of the sky isn't enough, if you start looking up tomorrow, you're going to see a similar situation in what we had a couple of weeks ago because of the air quality degradation".
LAST UPDATED: JULY 18
Red alerts for high temperatures in Europe´s southeast
The EU's emergency response coordination centre has issued red alerts for high temperatures for most of Italy, northeastern Spain, Croatia, Serbia, southern Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro.
Britain’s Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Spain and Greece, with holidaymakers urged to sign up for emergency alerts and warned of travel disruption as temperatures soar, reports The Independent.
Firefighters were struggling to contain a wildfire which burned out of control and forced the evacuation of at least 4,000 people on the Spanish island of La Palma, authorities said on Sunday.
Original text on July 16
Heatwaves are putting several tens of millions of people under heat advisory in Europe and North America. Experts are warning that high night time temperatures are not giving people any relief and to take cautions to stay cool in whatever way possible to avoid heat stroke.
An intense, prolonged heat wave is sweeping across Europe, with potential record-breaking temperatures of up to 48°C (118.4°F). This follows global temperature records and coincides with the onset of El Niño. Heat waves caused over 60,000 deaths in Europe in 2022, and this summer’s conditions could be even more severe, reports SciTechDaily.com.
Southern Europe is currently affected by very high temperatures. In Spain, Italy and Croatia it is above 40 degrees in some places, and this weekend it can be even hotter for Italy.
June this year was the hottest June ever recorded on Earth, and the record heat continues into July. Last week, the global average temperature broke a record when the average temperature was close to 17.2 C / 63 F on Wednesday.
Southern Europe is currently affected by Cherberos, a heat wave named after a Greek mythological creature. In the Mediterranean, it is well over 30 degrees in most places. In northern Italy, a 44-year-old construction worker died on Tuesday after he collapsed due to heat last week.
The heat was already been intensifying across the Iberian peninsula, southern Italy, Greece, and western Turkey on Saturday. The eastern coasts of the Aegean Sea experienced arid air mass from the Turkish plateau, pushing temperatures just below +45 °C / 113 F.
Up to +40 °C / 104 F was also again reported from eastern Spain. High 30s were observed in southern Italy. Temperatures surpassing 45 °C continued in Tunisia. This heat is gradually taking its turn farther north and east early next week and continue towards next weekend, according to SevereWeather.eu.
From Tuesday, temperatures are forecast to climb into the low to mid-40 °C across parts of Spain and southern Portugal, south-central Italy, and later over the south of Balkans, where Greece will be particularly hot.
El Niño heating up the ocean surface waters
Right now, the weather phenomenon El Niño is also affecting the world, which means that the temperature of the surface water in large areas in the tropics rises above normal levels. This usually leads to an increase in the global average temperature.
However, connections have been seen between the weather phenomenon and a drier climate in Africa, something that could explain the high pressure there and then also the high temperature in Southern Europe.
Large part of the US under heat advisory - millions living under threat of dangerous temperatures
More than a third of the US population - over 110 million people - have been under heat advisories last week, with a forecast for prolonged heat waves in several states this week.
Dangerous levels of heat in the United States are forecast in the South, West and Midwest on Monday, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Hundreds of people die from extreme heat in the United States every year. On hot days, the National Weather Service recommends that people drink fluids, stay in cooler rooms, keep out of the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors, especially older people and those who live alone.
Map showing areas of high temperatures in the US. Source: NOAA
Heatwave continuing for Europe
Southern and Eastern Europe is expected to get even hotter this week, according to BBC Weather. Temperatures of 46 C / 115 F is forecasted for Sardinia.
Italy have issued a heat advisory for 16 cities.
In Greece, a wildfire has broken out. CTIF is actively looking for information about this fire and will return with information.
China recorded its highest temperature ever on Sunday July 16. The record was set in Xinjiang with 52.2 C / 126 F, according to the UK Met Office.
Death Valley in California recorded 53,9 / 128 F on Sunday, which is very close to the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth, which is 56.7 / 134 F.
The highest temperature recorded in Europe was 48.8C in Sicily, in August 2021, according to The Independent.
In Arizona and Spain, uncomfortable temperatures have been reported also during night time after sunset. In Arizona, temperatures have been above 30 C / 86 F at night,
Heatwaves are currently affecting several other areas in the world as well. We will return with more info.
Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital and the seat of CTIF´s head office, has been reporting temperatures of 34 C / 93.2 or more.
THIS TEXT WILL BE UPDATED DURING THE WEEK
Illustration Credit: (Cover photo above)